Memory
Text: (Gen 2:2-3 NIV) By the seventh day God had finished the work he had
been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. {3} And God
blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all
the work of creating that he had done.

(Gen 2:3 NKJV)
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested
from all His work which God had created and made.

Sunday

Foundation
Of Creation

(Exo 20:8-11 NKJV) "Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy. {9} Six days you shall labor and do all your
work, {10} but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it
you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male
servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who
is within your gates. {11} For in six days the LORD made the heavens and
the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.
Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

Monday

The
Book Of Exodus And The Sabbath

Read Exodus chapter 16
please

(Exo 16:4-5 NKJV) Then the LORD
said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people
shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them,
whether they will walk in My law or not. {5} "And it shall be on the sixth
day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as
much as they gather daily."

(Exo 16:13-30 NKJV) So it was
that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the
dew lay all around the camp. {14} And when the layer of dew lifted, there,
on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as
frost on the ground. {15} So when the children of Israel saw it, they said
to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses
said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. {16}
"This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 'Let every man gather it
according to each one's need, one omer for each person, according to the
number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.'" {17}
Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less.

{Exo 16:18-30} So when they measured
it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered
little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one's need.
{19} And Moses said, "Let no one leave any of it till morning." {20}
Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it
until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
{21} So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need.
And when the sun became hot, it melted. {22} And so it was, on the sixth
day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And
all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. {23} Then he said
to them, "This is what the LORD has said: 'Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a
holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you
will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until
morning.'" {24} So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and
it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. {25} Then Moses said, "Eat
that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it
in the field. {26} "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day,
which is the Sabbath, there will be none." {27} Now it happened that some
of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.
{28} And the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments
and My laws? {29} "See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore
He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in
his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." {30} So the
people rested on the seventh day.

(Gen 2:2-4 NKJV) And on the seventh
day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day
from all His work which He had done. {3} Then God blessed the seventh day
and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had
created and made. {4} This is the history of the heavens and the earth when
they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the
heavens,

(James 2:10-11 NKJV) For whoever
shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
{11} For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder."
Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a
transgressor of the law.

(1 John 5:2 NKJV) By this we know
that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His
commandments.

(Rev 14:12 NKJV) Here is the patience
of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith
of Jesus.

(Exo 31:12-18 NKJV) And the LORD
spoke to Moses, saying, {13} "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying:
'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you
throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies
you. {14} 'You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you.
Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any
work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. {15} 'Work
shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy
to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be
put to death. {16} 'Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath,
to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
{17} 'It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever;
for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh
day He rested and was refreshed.'" {18} And when He had made an
end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the
Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Tuesday

The
Sabbath And Salvation

(Isa 56:1-7 NKJV) Thus says the
LORD: "Keep justice, and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed. {2} Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it; Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil." {3} Do not let the son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the LORD Speak, saying, "The LORD has utterly separated
me from His people"; Nor let the eunuch say, "Here I am, a dry tree." {4}
For thus says the LORD: "To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose
what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, {5} Even to them I will give
in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons
and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut
off. {6} "Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD,
to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants; Everyone
who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant; {7} Even
them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of
prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My
altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."

(Isa 60:3 NKJV) The Gentiles shall
come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

(Isa 65:17 NKJV) "For behold,
I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered
or come to mind.

(Isa 66:22 NKJV) "For as the new
heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me," says
the LORD, "So shall your descendants and your name remain.

(2 Pet 3:13 NKJV) Nevertheless
we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which
righteousness dwells.

(Rev 21:1 NKJV) Now I saw a new
heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away. Also there was no more sea.

(Isa 62:2 NKJV) The Gentiles shall
see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by
a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will name.

(Zec 8:23 NKJV) "Thus says the
LORD of hosts: 'In those days ten men from every language of the nations
shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for
we have heard that God is with you."' "

(Isa 52:10 NKJV) The LORD has
made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of
the earth shall see The salvation of our God.

Isa 56:1-7 (see top of
page)

(Rev 14:6 NKJV) Then I saw another
angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach
to those who dwell on the earth; to every nation, tribe, tongue, and
people;

(Rev 14:12 NKJV) Here is the patience
of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith
of Jesus.

Wednesday

Jesus
And The Sabbath

(Mat 12:1-14 NKJV) At that time
Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were
hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. {2} And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful
to do on the Sabbath!" {3} But He said to them, "Have you not read what David
did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: {4} "how he entered
the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat,
nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? {5} "Or have you
not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane
the Sabbath, and are blameless? {6} "Yet I say to you that in this place
there is One greater than the temple. {7} "But if you had known what this
means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the
guiltless. {8} "For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." {9} Now
when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. {10} And behold,
there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is
it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"; that they might accuse Him. {11} Then
He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it
falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
{12} "Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is
lawful to do good on the Sabbath." {13} Then He said to the man, "Stretch
out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as
the other. {14} Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how
they might destroy Him.

(Mark 2:23-28 NKJV) Now it happened
that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His
disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. {24} And the Pharisees said
to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" {25} But
He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need
and hungry, he and those with him: {26} "how he went into the house of God
in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is
not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and also gave some to those who
were with him?" {27} And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man,
and not man for the Sabbath. {28} "Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord
of the Sabbath."

(Mark 3:2-5 NKJV) So they watched
Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might
accuse Him. {3} And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."
{4} Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do
evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. {5} And when He had
looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their
hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it
out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

(Luke 6:1-6 NKJV) Now it happened
on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields.
And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in
their hands. {2} And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing
what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" {3} But Jesus answering them said,
"Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those
who were with him: {4} "how he went into the house of God, took and ate the
showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for
any but the priests to eat?" {5} And He said to them, "The Son of Man is
also Lord of the Sabbath." {6} Now it happened on another Sabbath, also,
that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right
hand was withered.

Thursday

The
Sabbath And The Sanctuary

(Exo 31:12-18 NKJV) And the LORD
spoke to Moses, saying, {13} "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying:
'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you
throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies
you. {14} 'You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you.
Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any
work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. {15} 'Work
shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy
to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be
put to death. {16} 'Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath,
to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
{17} 'It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in
six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day
He rested and was refreshed.'" {18} And when He had made an end of speaking
with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets
of stone, written with the finger of God.

(Exo 40:20-23 NKJV) He took the
Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of
the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. {21} And he brought the
ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned
off the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses. {22} He put
the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle,
outside the veil; {23} and he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD,
as the LORD had commanded Moses.

(Rev 11:19 NKJV) Then the temple
of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His
temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and
great hail.

Friday

The Desire of Ages, pp. 281 -
289

The Sabbath was hallowed at the
creation. As ordained for man, it had its origin when "the morning stars
sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38:7. Peace
brooded over the world; for earth was in harmony with heaven. "God saw everything
that He had made, and, behold, it was very good;" and He rested in the joy
of His completed work. Gen. 1:31. {DA 281.1}

Because He had rested upon the
Sabbath, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,"--set it apart
to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of
the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love. The Scripture
says, "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered." "The things that
are made," declare "the invisible things of Him since the creation of the
world," "even His everlasting power and divinity." Gen. 2:3; Ps. 111:4; Rom.
1:20, R. V. {DA 281.2}

All things were created by the
Son of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. .
. . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that
was made." John 1: 1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of
creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ. {DA 281.3}

The Sabbath calls our thoughts
to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of
the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may
hear His voice who talked (p. 282) with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day.
And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created
all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He "who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Cor. 4:6.
{DA 281.4}

It was this thought that awoke
the song,--

"Thou, Lord, hast made me glad
through Thy work;

I will triumph in the works of
Thy hands.

O Lord, how great are Thy works!

And Thy thoughts are very deep."

Ps. 92:4, 5. {DA 282.1}

And the Holy Spirit through the
prophet Isaiah declares: "To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness
will ye compare unto Him? . . . Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath
it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the
foundations of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth,
and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the
heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. . . .
To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift
up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth
out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of
His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou,
O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment
is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that
the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth
not, neither is weary? . . . He giveth power to the faint; and to them that
have no (p. 283) might He increaseth strength." "Fear thou not; for I am
with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea,
I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My
righteousness." "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth:
for I am God, and there is none else." This is the message written in nature,
which the Sabbath is appointed to keep in memory. When the Lord bade Israel
hallow His Sabbaths, He said, "They shall be a sign between Me and you, that
ye may know that I am Jehovah your God." Isa. 40:18-29; 41:10; 45:22; Ezek.
20:20, R. V. {DA 282.2}

The Sabbath was embodied in the
law given from Sinai; but it was not then first made known as a day of rest.
The people of Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai. On
the way thither the Sabbath was kept. When some profaned it, the Lord reproved
them, saying, "How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?" Ex.
16:28. {DA 283.1}

The Sabbath was not for Israel
merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like
the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of
that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, "Till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the
law." So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue
as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again,
God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath
to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to worship
before Me, saith the Lord." Matt. 5:18; Isa. 66:23. {DA 283.2}

No other institution which was
committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding
nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate
them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry,
and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath
holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers
of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall
be holy men unto Me." Ex. 20:8; 22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish
Israel as the worshipers of God. {DA 283.3}

As the Jews departed from God,
and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath
lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to
draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because
it is the sign of the (p. 284) power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished
the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements.

In the days of Christ the Sabbath
had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish
and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father.
The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible
for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to
think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men
hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these
misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility,
He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight
forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God. {DA 283.4}

Upon one Sabbath day, as the
Saviour and His disciples returned from the place of worship, they passed
through a field of ripening grain. Jesus had continued His work to a late
hour, and while passing through the fields, the disciples began to gather
the heads of grain, and to eat the kernels after rubbing them in their hands.
On any other day this act would have excited no comment, for one passing
through a field of grain, an orchard, or a vineyard, was at liberty to gather
what he desired to eat. See Deut. 23:24, 25. But to do this on the Sabbath
was held to be an act of desecration. Not only was the gathering of the grain
a kind of reaping, but the rubbing of it in the hands was a kind of threshing.
Thus, in the opinion of the rabbis, there was a double offense. {DA
284.1}

The spies at once complained
to Jesus, saying, "Behold, Thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do
upon the Sabbath day." {DA 284.2}

When accused of Sabbathbreaking
at Bethesda, Jesus defended Himself by affirming His Sonship to God, and
declaring that He worked in harmony with the Father. Now that the disciples
are attacked, He cites (p. 285) His accusers to examples from the Old Testament,
acts performed on the Sabbath by those who were in the service of God. {DA
284.3}

The Jewish teachers prided themselves
on their knowledge of the Scriptures, and in the Saviour's answer there was
an implied rebuke for their ignorance of the Sacred Writings. "Have ye not
read so much as this," He said, "what David did, when himself was an hungered,
and they which were with him; how he went into the house of God, and did
take and eat the shewbread, . . . which it is not lawful to eat but for the
priests alone?" "And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and
not man for the Sabbath." "Have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath
days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But
I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple." "The
Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Luke 6:3, 4; Mark 2:27, 28; Matt.
12:5, 6. {DA 285.1}

If it was right for David to
satisfy his hunger by eating of the bread that had been set apart to a holy
use, then it was right for the disciples to supply their need by plucking
the grain upon the sacred hours of the Sabbath. Again, the priests in the
temple performed greater labor on the Sabbath than upon other days. The same
labor in secular business would be sinful; but the work of the priests was
in the service of God. They were performing those rites that pointed to the
redeeming power of Christ, and their labor was in harmony with the object
of the Sabbath. But now Christ Himself had come. The disciples, in doing
the work of Christ, were engaged in God's service, and that which was necessary
for the accomplishment of this work it was right to do on the Sabbath day.
{DA 285.2}

Christ would teach His disciples
and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God's
work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary
to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord
with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself
the "Lord of the Sabbath,"--One above all question and above all law. This
infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes
they are accused of violating. {DA 285.3}

Jesus did not let the matter
pass with administering a rebuke to His enemies. He declared that in their
blindness they had mistaken the object of the Sabbath. He said, "If ye had
known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not
have condemned the guiltless." Matt. 12:7. Their many heartless rites could
not supply the (p. 286) lack of that truthful integrity and tender love which
will ever characterize the true worshiper of God. {DA 285.4}

Again Christ reiterated the truth
that the sacrifices were in themselves of no value. They were a means, and
not an end. Their object was to direct men to the Saviour, and thus to bring
them into harmony with God. It is the service of love that God values. When
this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with
the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men into communion with God; but when
the mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was
thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery. {DA 286.1}

Upon another Sabbath, as Jesus
entered a synagogue. He saw there a man who had a withered hand. The Pharisees
watched Him, eager to see what He would do. The Saviour well knew that in
healing on the Sabbath He would be regarded as a transgressor, but He did
not hesitate to break down the wall of traditional requirements that barricaded
the Sabbath. Jesus bade the afflicted man stand forth, and then asked, "Is
it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or
to kill?" It was a maxim among the Jews that a failure to do good, when one
had opportunity, was to do evil; to neglect to save life was to kill. Thus
Jesus met the rabbis on their own ground. "But they held their peace. And
when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the
hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand.
And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other." Mark
3:4, 5. {DA 286.2}

When questioned, "Is it lawful
to heal on the Sabbath days?" Jesus answered, "What man shall there be among
you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath
day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man
better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days."
Matt. 12:10-12. {DA 286.3}

The spies dared not answer Christ
in the presence of the multitude, for fear of involving themselves in difficulty.
They knew that He had spoken the truth. Rather than violate their traditions,
they would leave a man to suffer, while they would relieve a brute because
of the loss to the owner if it were neglected. Thus greater care was shown
for a dumb animal than for man, who is made in the image of God. This illustrates
the working of all false religions. They originate in man's desire to exalt
himself above God, but they result in degrading man (p. 287) below the brute.
Every religion that wars against the sovereignty of God defrauds man of the
glory which was his at the creation, and which is to be restored to him in
Christ. Every false religion teaches its adherents to be careless of human
needs, sufferings, and rights. The gospel places a high value upon humanity
as the purchase of the blood of Christ, and it teaches a tender regard for
the wants and woes of man. The Lord says, "I will make a man more precious
than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Isa. 13:12. {DA
286.4}

When Jesus turned upon the Pharisees
with the question whether it was lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or
to do evil, to save life or to kill, He confronted them with their own wicked
purposes. They were hunting His life with bitter hatred, while He was saving
life and bringing happiness to multitudes. Was it better to slay upon the
Sabbath, as they were planning to do, than to heal the afflicted, as He had
done? Was it more righteous to have murder in the heart upon God's holy day
than love to all men, which finds expression in deeds of mercy? {DA
287.1}

In the healing of the withered
hand, Jesus condemned the custom of the Jews, and left the fourth commandment
standing as God had given it. "It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days,"
He declared. By sweeping away the senseless restrictions of the Jews, Christ
honored the Sabbath, while those who complained of Him were dishonoring God's
holy day. {DA 287.2}

Those who hold that Christ abolished
the law teach that He broke the Sabbath and justified His disciples in doing
the same. Thus they are really taking the same ground as did the caviling
Jews. In this they contradict the testimony of Christ Himself, who declared,
"I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." John 15:10.
Neither the Saviour nor His followers broke the law of the Sabbath. Christ
was a living representative of the law. No violation of its holy precepts
was found in His life. Looking upon a nation of witnesses who were seeking
occasion to condemn Him, He could say unchallenged, "Which of you convicteth
Me of sin?" John 8:46, R. V. {DA 287.3}

The Saviour had not come to set
aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for He Himself had spoken
through these representative men. All the truths of God's word came from
Him. But these priceless gems had been placed in false settings. Their precious
light had been made to minister to error. God desired them to be removed
from their (p. 288) settings of error and replaced in the framework of truth.
This work only a divine hand could accomplish. By its connection with error,
the truth had been serving the cause of the enemy of God and man. Christ
had come to place it where it would glorify God, and work the salvation of
humanity. {DA 287.4}

"The Sabbath was made for man,
and not man for the Sabbath," Jesus said. The institutions that God has
established are for the benefit of mankind. "All things are for your sakes."
"Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or
things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and
Christ is God's." 2 Cor. 4:15; 1 Cor. 3:22, 23. The law of Ten Commandments,
of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing.
"The Lord commanded us," said Moses, "to do all these statutes, to fear the
Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive." Deut.
6:24. And through the psalmist the message was given to Israel, "Serve the
Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the
Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are
His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise." Ps. 100:2-4. And of all who keep "the Sabbath
from polluting it," the Lord declares, "Even them will I bring to My holy
mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer." Isa. 56:6, 7. {DA
288.1}

"Wherefore the Son of man is
Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort.
Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to
Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything
made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath.
By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points
to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created
all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together,
is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God.
For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign
between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify
them,"--make them holy. Ezek. 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's
power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As
a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through
Christ become a part of the Israel of God. {DA 288.2}

And the Lord says, "If thou turn
away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and
call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt
thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isa. 58:13, 14. To all who receive the
Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a
delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath
points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in
redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace
restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation,
"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you
rest." Matt 11:28. {DA 289.1}

(Job 38:7 NKJV) When the
morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

(Mat 5:18 NKJV) "For assuredly,
I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will
by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

The Faith I Live By, p. 37

To Be Kept in Eternity And it
shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath
to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. Isa.
66:23. {FLB 37.1}

How beautiful the earth was when
it came from the Creator's hand! God presented before the universe a world
in which even His all-seeing eye could find no spot or stain. Each part of
the creation occupied the part assigned to it, and answered the purpose for
which it was created. Peace and holy joy filled the earth. There was no
confusion, no clashing. There was no disease to afflict man or beast, and
the vegetable kingdom was without taint or corruption. God looked upon the
work of His hands, wrought out by Christ, and pronounced it "very good."
{FLB 37.2}

The Sabbath was hallowed at the
creation. As ordained for man, it had its origin when "the morning stars
sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38:7. . . .
{FLB 37.3}

The Sabbath was not for Israel
merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like
the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of
that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, "Till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
law." Matt. 5:18. So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath
will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom
on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun.
"From one sabbath to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth
shall . . . "worship before me, saith the Lord." {FLB 37.4}

God teaches that we should assemble
in His house to cultivate the attributes of perfect love. This will fit the
dwellers of earth for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for all
who love Him. There they will assemble in the sanctuary from Sabbath to Sabbath,
from one new moon to another, to unite in loftiest strains of song, in praise
and thanksgiving to Him who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb forever
and ever. {FLB 37.5}